In recent years, a configuration has been proposed in which a plurality of apparatuses are connected via a network or the like, and the plurality of apparatuses are made to collaborate.
For example, in Patent Document 1, an information processing apparatus is disclosed with which, when a new device is connected to a network, a television being the center, the function of the device is transmitted to the television, and functions of devices on the network can be displayed on the television. When a user selects a function on the display screen, information is transmitted from the television to the device that performs the selected function, and the device executes processing.
Also, in Patent Document 2, for example, a monitoring camera system is disclosed in which a plurality of cameras are made to cooperate, and a camera to be operated and operating conditions of the camera are pre-set for each intrusion detection sensor that detects intrusion.
Also, in Patent Document 3, for example, a system is disclosed in which a plurality of terminals and a management unit are connected via a communication network, and this system is used as a security measure, for example. In the system shown in Patent Document 3, even if a terminal that can fully execute a countermeasure to handle a situation does not exist, combining a plurality of terminals allows execution of processing for handling the situation.
However, the above-described conventional apparatuses and systems include the following issues.
That is, with the information processing apparatus disclosed in the above-described Patent Document 1, although cooperation such that the functions of other devices are displayed on the television is performed, each apparatus can only execute individual processing (also referred to as an objective). Therefore, processing that is to be performed by a plurality of devices in cooperation cannot be executed.
Also, with the system disclosed in Patent Document 2, although predetermined processing can be executed using a plurality of devices, a case where a camera has failed, a camera is accessed without authorization externally, or the like cannot be dealt with. Also, with the system disclosed in Patent Document 3 as well, there are cases where an objective cannot be implemented, such as a case where a terminal has failed or the like. As described above, with the systems in Patent Documents 2 and 3, there are cases where the objective cannot be achieved due to being unable to adapt depending on the external and internal state of the system.